Men's Swimming & Diving at Saint John's University

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – After besting Gustavus on Friday night, the Carleton College men’s swimming/diving team was back in the water on Saturday against another tough MIAC squad. Despite victories in nine events—including Chris Frills (Sr./Chicago, Ill./North Lawndale College Prep) in the 3-meter diving competition—the Knights came up just short against Saint John’s University, 148-142.

“This was a challenging meet, both physically and emotionally and the guys did not disappoint,” said Carleton head coach Andy Clark. “They pushed hard from the beginning of the meet and came very close to beating a very talented Johnnie team. They stayed focused and directed great energy to each event.”

Erik Klontz (Sr./Bethesda, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) swam another NCAA “B” cut time in taking first during the 50-yard freestyle at 20.90. He also won the 100-yard freestyle at 47.61.

Evan Harris (So./Lexington, S.C./Lexington) took top honors in the 1650-yard freestyle, reaching the finish in 18:00.47. That was one of three events—also the 200 backstroke and 100 butterfly—in which Andrew Cely (So./Plano, Texas/Plano) recorded a season-best time, earning him Carleton’s swimmer-of-the-meet honor

After in figuring in four victories on Friday, Mamoru Kanazawa (Sr./Tokyo, Japan/St. Mary’s International School) played a role in three more today. He tallied wins in the 200-yard freestyle (1:48.28) and sprinted through the 100-yard butterfly at 54.85,

Benito Ramirez (Jr./Saint Louis Park, Minn./Minneapolis South) prevailed in both the 500-yard freestyle (5:13.60) and the 200-yard butterfly, in a season best of 2:06.25. In that race he was followed closely by Wilson Josephson (Fy./Mount Hermon, Mass./Northfield-Mount Hermon) and Andy Hardt (Sr./Mount Kisco, N.Y./American School in London)

“All the wins were essential but also were the depth points, and going 1-2-3 in the 200 fly was reflective of the determination the guys had,” Clark said. “Chris Frill's first collegiate win on the 3-meter board was an added and huge boost for the team and provided some pivotal momentum to the team as we headed into the final two events.”

The Knights capped their weekend with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Klontz, George McAney (Fy./Santa Cruz, Calif./Santa Cruz), Stephen Grinich (Fy./McMinnville, Ore./McMinnville), and Kanazawa combined on a winning time of 1:25.66

“Overall, outstanding team effort by the guys and the coaches are proud of the competitive output they displayed this weekend,” said Clark. “This is certainly the type of competitive momentum we need for this point in the season.”

Carleton’s next meet will be on Saturday, Jan. 26 as the Knights travel across town to battle rival St. Olaf College at 11:00 a.m.